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They’re remaking The Pink Panther. And by “they”, I mean “people who make more money than I do whether or not they’re more qualified/better educated than I”.

In the lead role of Inspector Clouseau, they have cast Steve Martin. The original Inspector was played by Peter Sellers, who had impeccable comic timing and the best straight face I’ve ever seen. Although I desperately love Steve Martin’s goofiness, I don’t like him cast in this role. I would have preferred to see Steve Carell cast as Inspector Clouseau. I don’t know what Carell is like with accents (which was one of Sellers’ greatest gifts; he could do nearly any accent incredibly badly), but what gets me is that Clouseau wasn’t goofy. He wasn’t over-the-top. That’s what made him so damned funny. As a character, Clouseau took himself incredibly seriously. Sellers played him completely straight. I’m just not sure Steve Martin is going to be able to do that.

I mention it because the Pink Panther movies were a staple of our household vacations from the time Betamax was invented.

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cenobyte

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5 responses to “Moviesign”

  1. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Martin does not have whatever it is you need to be Clouseau.And, yeah, remakes. I read yesterday that a whole schwack of ’80s movies are being remade.*Sigh*It’s bad enough that almost every movie out there now is a remake of a movie from another country or is adapted from a book or comic.Originality, people? Anyone? Hollywood, are there still real screenwriters on the payroll?The Ms. S

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  2. cenobyte Avatar
    cenobyte

    Oh yeah, I know he was a master impressionist. I was making the point that he could do any accent badly, which is a gift. Anybody can do *some* accents well, or one or two accents badly, but very few people can do *any* accent badly. Steve Martin is a comic genius. I love Steve Martin. Just not as my Clouseau.

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  3. Terry Avatar
    Terry

    Right with you… And I like Steve Martin. But I worship Peter Sellers.I do have to react to your statement “(which was one of Sellers’ greatest gifts; he could do nearly any accent incredibly badly)”. I think you’re aware of it, but just in case, Sellers was a master at impressions. That’s partially why he sounds different in just about every role he does. But the point is why he was a master of bad accents. Because he could’ve effortlessly done a perfect French accent. Something beyond Steve Martin I’m afraid.So why do you think Steve Martin got the role? Before Sellers died, he spoke quite highly of Steve Martin and used him as an example of someone who could fill his shoes. No doubt that was a large influence on the people who owned the Pink Panther property.

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  4. melistress Avatar
    melistress

    apparently you haven’t seen the first of the Pink Panther remakes with Steve Martin as Clouseau? This is a Part II to the first remake. And your fears are correct as far as I’m concerned. I am really sick of all the remakes Hollywood is doing. It is as if all the stories have been done now and no one has the imagination to make anything new. Sigh…

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  5. Der Kaptin Avatar
    Der Kaptin

    But are they remaking Swiss Family Robinson? Nooooo. And don’t tell me about Space Family Robinson or whatever that abombination was. We saw “The Day the Earth STood Still” (remake). If that doesn’t put you off remakes AND Keanu, then you’re a better Gort than I.

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